The last few days have been quite the adventure. After arriving in Coban on Sunday afternoon, we learned that our planned week in Rocj Pumtilla was not going to happen. We were all disappointed at losing the opportunity to live with families in a Mayan community and do some serious volunteer work but we got good news soon afterwards. Semuc Champey, a series of water pools, falls, and caves, was… Read More
The FANZ Walkabout group has just completed a four day stint at the Blue Mountain Adventure Centre in National Park, New Zealand. The week was amazing as our guides Bevan and Simon took us all over the area doing awesome activities. Activities included a high ropes course, white water rafting, caving, kayaking, canyoneering, jumping waterfalls, repelling or also known as abseiling and some leadership building activities. Highlights from the week… Read More
I am Blake. It is San Marcos. I like it here.
It´s going well. Everyone is busy with their classes and activities for the week. A few people have decided to kayak on the lake but others chose not to because of how choppy it is. Ana and Meg are learning how to give massages, Yuri is taking Spanish class and Allison, Kira and Jessie are studying Reiki. Food is… Read More
Greetings from New Zealand! This week the Hongi group has had the privilege of staying and working as WWOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) at Ruaway farm, owned and run by our hosts Claire, David, Craig, and Mike Carey. Ruaway Farm not only has some of the most breathtaking scenery in New Zealand but it also is one of the four largest organic dairy farms in the country.
This week… Read More
Hello from San Marcos! We arrived here Monday after the three day trek, which was everything we hoped it would be…difficult, exciting, beautiful, and really tiring. Our first day, which lasted about 10 hours, ended with a night spent camping on a river that provided a nice backdrop to a deep deep sleep. Day 2 began with a struggle, as we all felt the aches and pains of the day… Read More
I just want to take a minute and write a little about a friend of mine before I get to the blog. Ori Gutin is an individual you all need to meet. He is hands down the best guy Ive ever met. Nice, funny, kind, loving, caring, handsome, and charming. If you havent gotten the chance to meet Ori, youre missing out. Now onto the blog…
Greetings from New Zealand!!… Read More
Hello from PJ and Tom’s farm! We arrived at the farm on Friday around midday, and will be here until Saturday the 10th for the Blue Mountain Adventure Center. Each day we have been broken up into small groups of two in order to complete daily tasks assigned to us. Day one was pretty rough with the wind and rain but we all chugged on through. The two Adams went… Read More
Okay, well I guess I'll be the first Latitudes student to upload a post, so here it goes.
I chose for my volunteer placement to help out in a locally owned and operated Bed and Breakfast, Landhotel Bierhausle, in
the VERY small "town" of Altglashutten. It is situated in the heart of the Schwarzwald (The Black Forest) very close to the
borders with France and Switzerland. I arrived here at… Read More
We just wrapped up a few amazing days with Ohana Amani in N’jombe. We spent the days with Curry, Chevy, Kayla, and Dustin reflecting on what it means to serve and how to be consciously aware of our presence as it leaves an impact on the communities we’re living in. We spent time constructing three garden beds for the volunteer house that soon will provide the home with an excess… Read More
What up what up!
Hello as well as goodbye from yours truly Cade, this past week has been a journey nonetheless. From Switching schools for volunteering to one of the best ego building experiences of my life.. futbol with the kids at the new school. Being a gringo ( such a surprise i know right?) i feel as if i was underestimated, and my the end of the recess my… Read More
Tomorrow morning we are all powering through a 4 AM bus ride as we say goodbye to Banos, leave our host families, and head to Otovalo and then the Tundanga Foundation for a little over a week of volunteering in a tree nursery. New host families, new adventures, and new fun times lie ahead!
But today it´s hard to say goodbye. Kai and I recieved homemade bracelets and a huge… Read More
This week in Xela we continued to attend Spanish language classes. Everyone has really enjoyed getting to know their instructors. We have found that those who originally struggled are now navigating Central American culture with what can be described as, almost, skill.
Some of us continue to go to Yoga classes and find that the eccentric Kevin is our favorite instructor thus far. Though he can be a bit controversial… Read More
Bula vinaka (a warm welcome) from Nadi, Fiji!
Anna here with a quick update (since we have a group dinner soon), so apologies for any typos and/or lack of detail. We just got to Nadi (the city) today and are taking the day off to rest and relax before we fly out to Auckland, New Zealand, tomorrow! It’s the first time we’ve gotten access to the Internet since the last… Read More
I am blogging from the popular internet cafe in the center of the small town in Ecudaor where we currently reside, Banos. We have been here for 10 days, long enough for us to already have our favorite cafe´s and hangout spots. When we are not playing Spanish Scrabble, hangingout, and eating with our homestay families, we all love to get together at Cafe Hood, this cute, warmly lit cafe… Read More
Hamjambo friends and family! Sorry for a delayed post but we had some technical difficulties at our last internet cafe a week ago. Wespent a week in the Mufindi region working with Jenny and Geoff, two amazing people who run an NGO (non governmental organization) there. The main projects include an orphanage, HIV clinic, income generating projects, home based health care visits and much more. We got to spend a… Read More
We have finished our first week of Spanish school in Xela and are starting our second week today. Most of the time so far has been spent in class in the mornings and hanging out in the afternoons. Last week we had a couple group activites through the school, one of which was making choclate. A group of about thirteen students from the spanish school went to a local womans… Read More
As of 365 days ago we were all drifting far above the Asian continent, very much separate but somehow connected by gossamer threads of what destiny had in store for us… Connected by the simple fact that we threw our unharnessed faith in the Carpe Diem boat bound for India. I remember seeing the lights of Delhi waver into sight, a pit in my stomach of rumbling excitement and question-… Read More
As of 365 days ago we were all drifting far above the Asian continent, very much separate but somehow connected by gossamer threads of what destiny had in store for us… Connected by the simple fact that we threw our unharnessed faith in the Carpe Diem boat bound for India. I remember seeing the lights of Delhi waver into sight, a pit in my stomach of rumbling excitement and question-… Read More
We are currently in Xela at our first language school. Almost everyone, it appears, has a love affair with their teacher. We have one on one classes everyday from 8 AM to 1 PM. They´re very flexible and many of us have gone to the market, a menonite bakery, a church service, or have just walked around for class. We have the afternoons free; yesterday we learned how to make… Read More
Hello to everyone back home, from Cali to South Cackalacky. It’s hard believe that it has been almost two weeks since we first arrived in Ecuador. It seems as though we have been here for months and also like we just arrived yesterday. We are now in our third location: Baños, and it is simply beautiful. The town is a bit touristy with outdoor sports companies and currently with Carnival,… Read More
